Welcome to the Room
by Destined Darkness
Summary: When they arrived, there was nothing, the Room was empty and, for all intents and purposes, so were they. When they left, there was everything, the Room was their home and, for all intents and purposes, they found they couldn't stop coming back to it.
1. Into the Nothing

Summary: When they arrived, there was nothing, the Room was empty and, for all intents and purposes, so were they. When they left, there was everything, the Room was their home and, for all intents and purposes, they found they couldn't stop coming back to it.

This is the expanded form of a post I made on Tumblr, you should probably check out the post before reading but you don't actually have to. Anyway, the post is here. http:(slash)(slash)allthejimmysarelove-slime(dot)tumblr(dot)com(slash)post(slash)23788264387(slash)i-just-had-a-thought-and-its-random-but-i-like-my :)

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Loki sighs in boredom at the empty walls that surround him. He has his magic and he has his wits, what he doesn't have is a door. Sure, he could magic himself out of this place but then he'd just end up dying because there's nothing outside this room except the vacuum that is 'outside Time and Space'. If he could find the door then he could magic himself away to the other side of it, but you see, the thing about the Room is, the door always shifts on this side, because it can, because there is nothing holding it in place except the antimatter that created it. So Loki is stuck, and, as the room is completely empty, bored.

He admits that maybe it was a little bit of an overstep to hack into the S.H.I.E.L.D HQ computers and put the Nyan Cat theme song on repeat on a deadlock time of twelve hours, and that maybe he shouldn't have stayed around to watch everyone go crazy, but still, a room full of nothing and no way out is a much too harsh punishment for such a harmless crime. Fury, of course, would disagree as the Hulk destroyed most of the HQ in the process of trying to 'knock himself out and end the horror of the noise.' Loki thinks they can't blame him for their inability to control their own monster, after all, Loki has his own to keep under wraps and he barely manages that as it is.

Loki understands that time in the Room progresses differently than time outside of the Room, he also understands that the Room time follows no strict rules and so he cannot be sure how much time has passed outside of his little prison, or, really, how much has passed within it. Loki understands also that he's probably going to be here for a while and that he may as well get used to it, but how does one get used to boredom? They don't, and that's why Loki conjures up his spell books, he may as well learn a few things while he's trapped with nowhere to go.

Loki cannot know that he has been in the Room for, at the present stage, three days of the Room's time and only four hours of 'Outside of Room' time. Loki doesn't know that while he's locked away safely in the Room, Thor is fighting off Hulk with Steve and Iron Man's help and Clint is tending to an unconscious Natasha. It takes them half an hour to finally calm the Hulk down enough that he turns back into a very naked and exhausted Banner. They give him clothes and then Fury sends him to the Room.

Loki is sleeping when Bruce appears from a hole in the wall; Bruce sees him and tries not to make too much noise as he paces. Loki senses his presence within five Room minutes of Bruce being there and sits up, eyeing his new Roommate. He yawns, rubs his eyes and decides not to be a dick for the first time in his life.

"Hi. Nice of you to drop by." He says with a raised eyebrow, Bruce scowls at him for moment then sighs. "Did you Hulk out again?" Loki asks and he knows it's a stupid question but he's still half asleep and his brain isn't working properly. Banner raises an eyebrow.

"I think you know the answer to that question…" he says then looks around. "What exactly are you meant to do in here?" he asks, Loki snorts and tosses him a book, it's black and gold and green and titled 'The Science of the Universe.' Bruce catches it and holds it in his hands, confused.

"You read, you pace, you sleep, you talk, you do anything because if you don't, you go mad." Loki says as if it's obvious, Banner resists the urge to face-palm but he sits down with the book and starts to read nonetheless. Loki smiles as he lies back down and closes his eyes, allowing sleep to take hold of him once more.

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R&R :)


	2. Filling the Void

Hello. :) I really actually have no idea what I'm doing, like I have a vague idea but otherwise no... lol! Anyway! Enjoy this... whatever it is. :P

And no you can't have my brain! :P

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Quote of the Chapter:

_'This world is but a canvas to our imaginations'_ Henry David Thoreau

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Bruce discovers, after four Room days, that Loki's not actually a bad guy and that if he wanted to, Loki could take over all of Earth without trying. Bruce discovers that Loki's just been toying with them. Loki had woken up on the second day of Bruce's incarceration and decided that he was tired of sleeping on the ground and with a snap of his fingers; Bruce and Loki had found themselves in the entrance hall of a very large palace, Loki had smiled and headed off to the library after giving Bruce directions to the lab, of course. Bruce had happily bounced off to check it out. He had spent the rest of that day experimenting, Loki had joined him just before what they called 'nightfall' fell in their makeshift world.

On the third day, Bruce designed a city and Loki created it, the Room wasn't just an empty room anymore. On the fourth day, Loki deems it 'lazy day' and he promptly refuses to get out of the comfy bed he has claimed as his own. Bruce, seeing no reason to complain, heads back to his own bed, lies back on it and thinks.

Neither of them knows that outside the Room only six hours have gone by since Bruce was locked in the Room and the S.H.I.E.L.D HQ is slowly being repaired. Tony is beginning to get restless and annoyed, there's no one to talk Science with now that Bruce is gone and so, off he heads to cause trouble. Pepper thinks that if she didn't already know who Loki was, she'd have assumed that Tony was he.

Tony breaks into Fury's office and _accidentally, _of course he didn't do it on purpose thank-you-very-much, sets fire to it. All the classified information and all the technology and priceless artefacts and photos go up in flames. Things would have gone off without a hitch if Tony hadn't run into Fury on his way out of the office. Fury, of course, is furious, excuse the pun, and sends Tony off down to the Room without a second thought, he has a fire crew and cleaning crew up to his office immediately after Tony is out of his sight.

Loki's dreaming of Asgard and the golden halls and how wonderful it feels to be back home when a buzzing noise sounds in his ears and he wakes. With a scowl he gets out of bed and goes to investigate the new arrival. He finds Bruce has beaten him there and he rolls his eyes when he sees who their new Roommate is. He's not surprise to see Tony.

"I have been awaiting your arrival, Stark. Prey, tell, what did you do to get yourself thrown in here?" he asks with a smirk. Tony scowls at him and holds up a lighter.

"I set fire to Fury's office… completely accidentally, of course." He says and Bruce quietly pinches the bridge of his nose and doesn't comment, Loki however laughs and shakes his head.

"Not really what I was expecting but, works for me." He admits with a smile. "I take it that accidents don't happen accidentally in your life…" he adds and, after a moment, Tony grins, and Loki has to remind himself that no, Tony is not a trickster, even if he can pull of the trademark Trickster grin. _It suits him_, Loki thinks. "Excellent." He exclaims before giving Tony directions, firstly, to Tony's new bedroom and secondly, to the lab and thirdly, to every bar in the city. "I'm off back to bed, it's a lazy day!" he proclaims before dragging himself back to his room. Tony looks at Bruce who shrugs and shakes his head, Tony decides not to ask, Bruce tries not to show how thankful he is for that.

Bruce and he head off down to the lab and Bruce fills Tony in on all the experiments he and Loki have been working on, Tony immediately jumps in and adds his own ideas to the mix and that's how they spend the rest of Tony's first day in the Room. They spend Tony's first night in the Room by visiting one of the movie theatres in the city, they are the only ones there and they make as much noise and eat as much as they want. 'Oh do pass the popcorn, Stark, you're making such a mess.' 'Quiet down in front! This is the best part!' 'Oh shush your mouth, Banner, I'm eating here!' They watch whatever movies they wish, 'No, Banner, I've told you, we're _not _watching anything Disney!' 'Pfftt, let's watch Moulin Rouge.' 'Only because it has a hooker in it, Tony,' and when they finally tire, they find themselves tucked up in their beds safe and sound in their Room bedrooms. Tony thinks that maybe he could actually kind of like this place, if Fury decides to never let him out, that is, and he knows it's crossing Fury's mind.

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I DO WHAT I WANT! :P


	3. Reality Starts to Kick In

HOLA! Thanks for the reviews guuuuyyysss! :D And my brain is totally messed up, yes, of this I know. :)

Anyway! Here is the next chapter.

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Inspiration of the chapter:

_'Don't say I'm out of touch, with this rampant chaos - your reality. I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge, the nightmare I built my own world to escape.' _Imaginary by Evanescence

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Tony discovers after three Room days that Loki is actually quite the motherly type. He'll sit back with a book and watch the two Scientists work, of course, he'll have one eye on them and one eye on his book; mustn't seem too protective now. On Tony's second day, he and Bruce had been mixing chemicals in the lab; one of the chemicals was something Loki had created with Banner during Banner's first day there. Loki had looked up from his book and shouted 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING? STOP!' and they had blinked and the lab had vanished as the Room shook and they found themselves in the entrance hall. 'Next time ask before you mix anything I help you create! Some things I give to you have not been discovered by your people yet and only I understand their properties. We could have died.' He had yelled at them before storming off to only he knew where. Tony and Banner had spent the rest of the day trying to find him to apologize.

That morning, when the two scientists had finally woken up, they had found a note on each of their beds that read '_I apologise for yesterday. Meet me in the entrance hall when you awaken. LL'_ and so down they had gone. They found Loki leaning against the doors with his eyes closed and a smile on his face.

"Morning, I think." Tony had said, Bruce nodding agreement, Loki had opened his eyes and looked at them.

"Indeed." He had breathed after a moment before transporting them to the middle of the city. "I have repaired the lab and added new areas to the city and there are now A.I's inhabiting this realm as well. Stark, Banner designed this city and I created it, how do you wish to add to it?" he had asked Tony, who had blinked at him before cocking his head to the side.

"We need a giant Arcade Area." He had said after a while, Loki had looked confused until Banner had explained exactly what an Arcade was and Loki created it.

That is how they find themselves at the newly created Arcade five Room hours later, still playing games. Loki tries to hide his curiosity over the 'games' and finds he cannot quite hide his interest in a game Banner calls 'Laser Tag.'

"It's fun. You'll like it and at least do better than Thor did on his first try…" Banner says, smirking when Tony scowls and rubs at his forehead with the hand that's not holding his plastic gun. Loki smirks and thinks he knows exactly what Thor did.

"I promise not to… injure you with these toy guns." Loki says, holding up his own plastic gun, and then he remembers the far too lit up vest he's wearing and frowns. "If the point of this game is stealth and strategy, how does one work around the fact that they're lit up like a nightlight?" he asks, Banner scowls and Tony's grin is that of a Cheshire Cat, Loki finds himself, once again, mulling over the pros and cons of teaching Tony magic and allowing him to become a Trickster like himself. He scowls inwardly at himself; Tony is his enemy, not a potential other. _But we're not enemies here, are we? _sometimes Loki hates his brain.

"That's why Tony likes the game so much, he's already quite used to being a nightlight and so he uses that experience to his advantage. The rest of us however have to work out ways to shield ourselves from being seen. It's all part of the fun." Banner says after a moment, Loki nods.

"I see." He doesn't but he's willing to go along with it anyway.

"Player with the least 'deaths' wins. And it's every man/god/beast for himself." Tony says, heading off down a dark corridor, Loki goes to follow him but Banner directs him to another corridor.

"We each have different starting points. Just follow this down to the door at the end and wait for it to open. When it does, it will lead out into a dark arena, that's when the game begins and your suit and gun will be activated. Good luck!" he says before ducking down his own corridor, Loki shrugs and heads towards the door at the end of his. A disembodied voice counts down from ten and then the door opens and Loki enters a dark arena, his vest and gun beep once and then flash continuously.

An hour later and Bruce finds himself losing quite horribly to the Nightlight, Tony's choice of Laser Tag name, and the Silver-Tongue, Loki's choice of Laser Tag name, Banner's own is 'Bogeyman'. Apparently Loki is of equal skill to Tony when it comes to shooting people with fake guns. Banner is highly amused by the fact that he doesn't need the disembodied voice to tell him who has just 'killed' who as he can tell from a, the cackling that is drowned out by the shout of 'NO! YOU WILL PAY!' or b, the cheer of 'Oh, yeah, who's the Iron-Man? Me! That's who!' followed by the growl of 'I will get you back for this, human!' Of course, he could just sit back and listen to them 'killing' each other, it would be quite fun, but then eventually they'd work out that he was just letting them 'kill' each other so he would win and then they'd come after him in force.

"Ohhh, Bannnneerrrr! Come out, come out and plaayyy!" Bruce scowls at Loki's voice and raises his gun when the lights turn on and the disembodied voice proclaims Loki as the winner. Banner wishes he had a video camera with him to capture the victory dance Loki does, he decides, however, that it's best to get out of the way of Tony when he notices his eyes flashing mischievously. Of all the people to be trapped with, it had to be a psychotic, attention-craving, depressed Trickster god and a genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist, oh joy.

As they leave the arcade they discover that night has fallen and that it appears to be what Loki and Banner call a 'Short Day', where the time in the Room shifts from what it had been only a few Room hours earlier. Tony asks how they know this and Loki says only that it had happened on Banner's third day there too and had caught them both quite by surprise.

"C'mon, let's camp out under the stars tonight." Loki says and they find themselves standing in the middle of an island in the middle of a lake near the Palace.

"You really need to give us warning before you do that." Banner says with a scowl, Loki smirks and shrugs his shoulders.

"I'm the only one confident enough to do that, or well, okay. I'm the only one who has tried." He says, sitting down around a campfire that had not been there a moment ago. Tony takes a breath in.

"It's going to take forever to become used to this…" he says to himself, sitting down beside the god. "What, no marshmallows?" he asks with mock surprise. Loki rolls his eyes and a tray with three plates, three bags of marshmallows, three packets of chocolate biscuits and three skewers appears beside Tony. Banner shakes his head and sits down on Loki's other side.

"So, any bets on who's going to be next?" he asks, taking the plate, skewer, bag of marshmallows and packet of biscuits that Loki passes to him. The god snorts as he puts a marshmallow onto his skewer and holds it over the fire.

"It'll be Thor." He says with a nod, watching the marshmallow burn. Banner raises an eyebrow as he watches Tony determinedly pick through his marshmallows, separating the white ones from the pink, Loki removes his marshmallow from the fire and, with skill, puts it on a biscuit before squishing it between another, he goes to eat it but stops when he notices Stark.

"Why… Thor?" Banner asks, still trying to work out what Tony is doing. Loki watches Tony like he's some new creature he has never seen before. It takes him a second to remember that Banner's talking to him.

"Oh yes. It'll be Thor because Thor's never been good at keeping out of trouble and he'll want to make sure that we haven't killed each other yet." He says, watching Tony put two pink marshmallows onto the skewer and then hold them over the fire. That's when Tony notices them staring and blinks.

"What?" he asks with a frown, "Have I missed something? What?" he asks again when neither of his companions answer him. Loki clears his throat and looks away.

"Nothing, Stark, nothing. Banner, who do you think will be next?" he asks, taking a bite from his smore.

"I think it'll be Steve, actually, because well… I don't know why, I just think it will be him." Banner says, opening his packet of marshmallows. "Tony, who do you think will be next?" he asks, putting marshmallows on the skewer. Loki finishes his smore and watches Tony make a mess as he tries to get the marshmallows off of the skewer and Tony, being far too focussed on the task at hand, doesn't hear Banner. Eventually Loki scowls at Tony, swipes the skewer from his hand, cleans it on his cape and then goes to put more un-melted marshmallows on it, he reaches for the white marshmallows, being the closest to him.

"Not the white ones! I don't eat the white, they give me headaches." Loki has been a parent far too many times to comment or really react as he leans over and grabs two pink marshmallows, puts them on the skewer and then holds them over the fire. Banner doesn't say a think when Loki removes them from the fire and slides them from the skewer onto a biscuit and squishes them with another, he also doesn't comment when Loki puts the smore on Tony's plate and then hands it to Tony, whose eyes light up as he takes the smore and starts eating it.

"Steve will be after Thor, Banner. And I am undecided yet on whether we shall be seeing the Hawk and the Spider…" Loki says picking up his skewer and another marshmallow. It takes Banner a moment to realize Loki's picking up their old conversation as if he hadn't just made Tony a smore like the playboy billionaire was a little child, as if Tony hadn't just let him. Bruce questions what has happened to them, that here they are, the Hulk and Iron-Man having a camp-out under the stars with Loki, their enemy. He questions why they're doing this when they all know that eventually they'll have to leave this place and that things outside will still be the same. He questions why but stops when he catches Loki staring at him, he reads in Loki's eyes a plead '_This is our world, let's not taint it with the problems we must face in yours.' _so Bruce sighs and gives a small nod.

"Hmm, you could be right." he says, replying to more that just Loki's statement about who would be joining them next. He looks up at the stars that don't resemble Earth's and he smiles._ Loki's right, this is not Earth, here Loki is not evil, he is not my enemy. Here Loki is my friend and together we created paradise._

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AN: Tony's 'I get headaches when I eat the white marshmallows' thing is actually all me. I can't eat white marshmallows because they give me headaches, it's stupid and annoying but it is the truth and I hate it. Tony's inability to get the marshmallows off the skewer is because there's always _one _no matter where you go and no matter who you're with or how old the people are, there's always one person who makes a total mess trying to get the marshmallows off the skewer. And it's hard writing Laser Tag and campfire stuffs! Because it's been well over a year since I have played Laser Tag and been Loki knows how long since I've even eaten a smore, let alone had a campfire.

Anyway. I think that's all. :) R&R


	4. The Family Household

Bleh, I've got a lot going on at the moment so I have been a bit busy but... anyway, enjoy. :)

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Quotes of the Chapter: (ahaha there's more than one this time. :P)

_'Blood is thicker than water.' _-Proverb_  
'A family is a little world created by love' _-Not sure who it's by but yeah. :D_  
'Love is the only force capable of transforming enemy into a friend' _-Martin Luther King, Jr._  
'That which does not kill me, makes me stronger.'_ -Friedrich Nietzsche

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They don't question the new relationship they have, they don't question how Mondays have become 'Bruce's day' and Tuesdays have become 'Tony's day' and how Sundays are 'Loki's Lazy Day,' they don't mention that while they still have their differences and their arguments and how they're all stubborn as Hel, they get along better than they would care to admit had they been in the real world, but they weren't, they were in The Room, in their city, the city they had built from the Nothing up. They don't question what is happening but that doesn't mean they ignore it.

It is Monday today, that means it's Bruce's day. Bruce skips down to the kitchen, and if he really is skipping it is because he is so confident in his masculinity that he doesn't care, and sits down at the breakfast bar to watch Loki doing his hair via his reflection in the oven door.

"You know, that can't actually be that helpful." He says with a smirk, Loki spins to look at him with a scowl, hands on his hips over his silken black dressing gown.

"Hey, I make you breakfast, you don't comment on my daily routines, alright, big guy?" he says, scowl softening into an affectionate smile, Bruce grins and shakes his head with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, alright, I suppose." He replies as Tony stumbles into the room, his shirt only remaining on his body as it is stuck around his neck, his pant legs rolled up to uneven lengths, his hair all messy and his eyes still glassy with sleep. "Well, look what the cat dragged in." Bruce says with a disapproving shake of his head. "Tony, you really should make a better effort in trying to look presentable for breakfast, this is coming from the giant green beast…" he says after a moment's thought. Tony moans something at him as he sits down. Loki shakes his head and sighs, walking around the bar to Tony and starting to dress him properly; putting his arms through his shirt and tugging it down, unrolling his pant legs and attempting to tidy his hair.

"Really, child, is it too much to ask that you at least try to look presentable?" Loki queries as he heads back around the bar. "Now, Brucey! It's your day so what are we having?" he asks, ignoring the way Bruce glares at him.

"Tony! I swear I'm going to kill you for calling me that!"

"I only said it once!" Tony moans, glaring at Bruce who scowls.

"Yes and Loki heard you!" he cries unhappily, Loki snickers.

"Aww, does wittle Bwucey haves a pwobwem?" Loki coos, cackling when Bruce throws a mandarin at him. "You mess up my kitchen, you clean it." Loki sings in a sickly sweet voice and Bruce mutters something that Loki can't hear. "Anyway, what are we having?" Loki asks again, wiping bits of mandarin off of his dressing gown.

"Pancakes!" Tony chimes, Loki sighs.

"Tony, tomorrow is your day, you can have pancakes then but today is Bruce's day so he gets to choose." He says, watching Tony pout. "Besides, we had pancakes yesterday, I know because you cooked them so they were in… interesting shapes." He adds with a smirk, Tony mutters something and Loki laughs.

"I'm happy with toast…" Bruce says, smirking when Tony starts whimpering and mouthing 'toast, toast, any food in existence and he picks toast! Toast!' Loki laughs and shakes his head.

"That's a waste of my expertise but alright. Toast it is." He says, putting on toast for them all. "Oh, Tony, stop it, if Brucey picks something All-father awful for lunch or dinner then I will make you whatever you want, deal?" he asks, giving Tony a look, Tony stops mouthing his disapproval and smiles.

"That sounds perfect. Hey, Bruce, Bruce, hey, how about you pick something terrible for lunch and/or dinner and I'll pick what I want? Huh, Bruce? Huh? Huh?" Loki sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"How did I get myself into this mess?" he asks no one in particular, Bruce just snickers and waves Tony away.

"No, Tony, it's my day to choose."

"But Bru-ce!" Loki tries to hide a smile by turning to the fridge and collecting the spreads, it's in this way that he misses Bruce poking his tongue at Tony in a completely undignified way. "Do you poke your tongue at me, sir?"

"I do poke my tongue, sir."

"Do you poke your tongue at me, sir?"

"No, sir, I do not poke my tongue at you, sir, but I do poke my tongue, sir."

"No. That's it. You two are going to sit down and be quiet! There will be no quarrelling in the style of Romeo and Juliet in this household!" Loki calls, collecting plates. "We are going to have a nice breakfast and then go out and do whatever it is Bruce wishes to do for the rest of the day, no more fighting, no more tongue poking and, for the love of all that is me, no more Shakespeare." He says, giving the two a look. Bruce looks at Tony who smiles back at him and then they turn to Loki.

"Doth Mother know you weareth her drapes?" they chime together, grinning widely. Loki can't help but laugh at them in pure happiness.

"I am actually quite happy you two are in here and not out there because if you were, I might actually fear for the sanity and the safety of the universe…" he says when he manages to calm himself down. Tony smirks.

"Oh… you should still fear for the Universe… after all… _we're_ the geniuses of the team…" he says and bursts out laughing at the way Loki's eyes pop out. Bruce smiles; how many families laugh over toast and Shakespeare on Monday mornings?

And that's what they have become, a family, one created on science and love and happiness, one built from Nothing. The broken, abusive and violent families they were connected to by blood or by memory, they left behind, forgot but did not forgive and instead they welcomed a new family, one that promised love and understanding and companionship. One that woke up at ungodly hours of the morning, 'shut up, Tony, I'm a god, any hour I am awake is godly!' one that drank their way through a bar when they felt down, 'Don't worry, Br-uce, I'm sotally tober!' one that was never left alone when they felt bored, 'Loki, c'mon, I'm not going to do anything stupid, the big guy stops that, remember?' one that provided a sense of _home, _a sense of _self. _

Blood is thicker than water but blood can be washed away, leaving a blank slate. The families that broke them strengthen the bonds that hold their new family together and the things that didn't kill them only made them stronger.

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AN: Bruce and Tony are dicks sometimes... seriously, I'm tired and cold and my brain is dead, who in the hell thought it was a good idea to start school on a Thursday? Dammit! Anyway. Uhm... There was going to be something here but... I has forgottens...


	5. A Change is Gonna Come

Loki... please stop crying into my shoulder... please... no, Lo... Loki... stop, this is my favourite shirt... Loki... Loki, stop, stop, what are you doing? Stop! You're not allowed in mum's liquor cupboard anymore... no... stop... why?

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Loki's not exactly happy when Thor shows up; it had been night time and they had all been sleeping peacefully in one of the palaces many lounges after a movie night, when suddenly they'd been awoken by a buzzing in their ears. Loki had jumped up first, hissing something about needing to change that, Tony had scrambled to his feet after Loki had accidentally kicked him when he had woken and then Bruce had woken up when Tony stumbled and fell on him after he had proclaimed 'I AM AWAKE!' and proceeded to trip on the corner of the couch. After much scowling and grumbling they'd made their way down to the palace entrance hall. Loki and Bruce had rigged it so any new comers would automatically be brought there.

Thor had been looking around the hall when they'd appeared on the stairs, Loki had smirked at Banner "I won," he had said, Banner scowling darkly for a moment before grinning. Loki had then left it up to his fellow Science Bro's to fill Thor in on the happenings of their little world while he went off in search of peace. He's still struggling to find it three days later.

* * *

Bruce wanders into the kitchen at what he assumes to be six In the morning, he yawns and looks around, expecting to see Loki doing his hair in the reflection of the oven door, but, just as yesterday and the day before that, the god is nowhere in sight. There are three plates sitting on the breakfast bar though, and Bruce quickly notices them, heading over to them.

On each plate there is an omelette, two omelettes in one plate's case, and beside each plate is a little name tag. Bruce isn't surprised that the name tag beside the plate with two omelettes reads 'Thor.' He grabs his own plate and sinks into his seat, digging in. It surprises him to find the omelette still hot.

"Magic." He smiles and nods to himself as he eats.

He's just finishing off his omelette when Tony walks, well stumbles, in and sits down at the bar beside him.

"What smells so devilishly delicious, Loki?" Tony says as he rubs at his eyes, Bruce doesn't think he's slept well.

"Loki's not here, Tony. Eat your breakfast." Bruce says, getting up and carrying his plate around to the sink. Tony yawns and then looks around.

"Hmm? Should we be getting worried? We haven't seen him at all since Thor got here..." Tony asks, breaking off to yawn again. Bruce sighs as he rinses off his plate and puts it in the dishwasher.

"I'll go check on him." Bruce says, heading out of the room. Tony watches after him for a moment before finally noticing his omelette and everything else becomes unimportant in comparison.

* * *

Bruce spends at least three hours trying to find Loki, he checks Loki's room, the lab, the astronomy wing, the swimming pool, the gym, the little room Loki called his 'sanctuary' but he can't' find the god.

"Dammit, Loki, never playing 'hide and seek' with you…" he mutters to himself as he heads back up the stairs towards his own room to sit down and read a little bit.

"What?" Loki's voice behind him startles him and he spins to see the God standing there, his head cocked to the side. "Were you looking for me, Bruce?" He asks and Bruce tells himself the cold gleam in Loki's eyes is just from the light.

"Uh yeah, Tony and I were getting worried, we haven't seen you for three days…" he says, clearing his throat awkwardly. Loki gives him a small smile.

"I am well, Bruce, you need not fear. I just have no inclination to confront Thor at the present moment." He says with a small nod of his head, Bruce frowns.

"Well… tomorrow is your day so do you have any plans or are we all just going to have a lazy day again?" he asks, Loki sighs.

"I'm not sure yet, Brucey, I guess we'll find out tomorrow." He says, turning to head off towards his room, he pauses at the doorway and looks back. "Was there anything else?" he asks,

"No, no, that was it, Loki." Bruce says, frowning when Loki bows his head at him and heads through the double doors to his room. Bruce decides that instead of reading his book, he'll go and find Tony and he heads off in search of the Man of Iron.

* * *

It's unfortunate for Loki that when he leaves his room the next time, late that night, it's to slam into Thor, quite literally.

"All-Father be damned! I thought you'd stopped that nonsense when we reached our maturity!" Loki seethes as stumbles away from Thor. It takes him more time than it should to regain his footing and Thor frowns.

"Are you well, brother?" he asks, missing the anger that flares in Loki's eyes.

"I am _not_ your _brother!_" it comes out with a slur and Loki scowls at himself. _I just had to be drunk for this, didn't I? _

"Brother, are you drunk?" Thor asks, an eyebrow raised, Loki scowls and sways on his feet.

"No, I'm just annoyed, now please, move out of my doorway so I might go find food." He snaps, folding his arms over his chest, the way he can't seem to keep himself on his feet without swaying only makes Thor sigh.

"I'm not moving until you talk to me." He says, folding his own arms over his chest, Loki gives an annoyed sigh.

"I am talking to you, idiot, what do you think this is?" and with that he attempts to push around Thor, only for his brother, _he's not my damn brother, _to move and stop him. He throws his hands in the air and gives a cry of outrage and irritation before sagging against the wall, lights swirling in his eyes. "Fine, say what you will and go. I am not in the mood."

"Why?" Thor says, it's just a simple word but it hits something in Loki and he scowls, pushing himself back to his feet, hands clenching

"Why? Why? Because you taint everything I create. Because everything I come to love you take away from me, if not directly then indirectly. Because I don't want to lose what I have here but I will. I will. Because you are the reason I cannot have nice things. You are the reason I can't have anything." It's a snarl and he can feel the words tumbling from his mouth but Thor shakes his head.

"No, I meant, why have you done all that you have? Why did you commit your crimes?" a sob-laugh escapes Loki's throat surprising him as he hadn't even known he was nearly crying, and Thor has the decency to look guilty.

"Because no matter how hard I tried I could never be you, the Almighty Thor, because I gave up trying, because I wanted to keep trying but could not find the will to, because I just wanted Odin to love me, because I wanted revenge, because my children were torn from me. Because you took from me my voice, because my magic was all I had and you scorned me for it, because no matter how much I tried I would never be good enough, because _I never wanted the throne, I only wanted to be your equal! _Because I am a monster, because I am just a spoil of war, because my life was ruined the moment I was born, because my journey was plotted the moment Odin found me. Because, no matter, how many times I was told to know my place, I never had a place to know! Because no matter how much you claim to love me, Thor, you told me all the things that hurt me were for the best and that they were for my own good and that nothing good could have come from them being around. Because you knew how hard it was for me to trust and I trusted you and you betrayed me, time and time again and I always thought 'he will protect me this time, this time he'll show them. He loves me, he does, he will protect me, he promised me,' and you never did. Because I am tired of believing in promises my magic always knew were empty words, because I'm sick of leaping into the unknown believing you'd catch me only to fall flat on my face on the ground." He pauses in his tirade and looks up into Thor's eyes, his chest is heaving and his eyes are swirling with overwhelming emotions. "Because I was suffocating and all you could do was tell me it was my place and that it was good for me, and I was gasping for breath that would not come and I just could not take it anymore." His throat is raw and his heart feels like it's about to pound right out of his chest and he feels like crying and screaming and hitting something all at the same time, but he feels lighter too, and he thinks that's odd.

"Brother, I never…" but Thor doesn't get to finish, because with just these three words Loki has more to say.

"Don't. Don't you dare. Don't you dare." Tears spill unbidden down Loki's face and he ignores them, shaking his head furiously. "Don't you dare try to tell me you had no idea or that you didn't know. Don't you dare because you never would have given a damn anyway. The way I felt never mattered in the grand plan that was you, the way I felt never mattered as long as I was happy for _you. _You can't tell me that it never crossed your mind, never crossed your mind that I was not at peace, that I was not happy. You can't tell me because you watched me lose my children one by one by one and all you _ever_ had to say about it was that it was for the best. Not even you are that stupid, Thor, not even you. I loved my children, Thor, and if anyone had ever given me the chance or the option to give my life for theirs I would have done so gladly, if anyone had ever asked I would have taken them far away, to somewhere they could never harm anyone, if someone had mentioned that they were _afraid _I would have ensured that no one needed ever be harmed, but no one ever asked and my children were taken away and all anyone could say to me, their grieving father, was 'it is for your own good.' No one ever gave a damn about my own good, that's why I was left to die in the cold like a dog, defenceless and innocent and far too young to know that I was made wrong. It's why Odin took me in, so he could maybe make a peace offering between Jotunheim and Asgard. It's why, no matter how many times I tried, I was always told to 'know my place' when I was just trying to keep myself and everyone else safe. No one ever gave a damn how I felt and you can't tell me you didn't know, Thor, because you watched me hold Sleipnir tight and cry myself to sleep at night, promising him that nothing and no one would ever take him away from me the way they took his siblings." Loki feels drained, his head is starting to pound and the buzz from the alcohol wore off ages ago and he's growing tired of this screaming.

"I'm sorry, brother. I have failed you." And Thor just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut and suddenly Loki's face is void of emotion.

"I don't want to hear it, Thor. You had your chance, as I had mine; but I just want you to know, you will _never _take from me this world, you will never take the family I have made here and quite frankly, Thor, I don't give a damn if you think I'm in the wrong here. Goodnight." And with that Loki shoves Thor out of the way and heads off down the hallway, a shell-shocked Thor blinking after him.

* * *

Tony is not quite sure how he finds himself curled up in bed with a sobbing Loki hugged tightly to his chest, he's not really sure what Loki's crying about either, but he does know it has something to do with Thor, and he's not surprised.

"There's chocolate ice-cream in the freezer." He's not sure what makes him say it but Loki freezes and peels his face away from Tony's chest, or more likely Tony's now soaking shirt, to look at Tony with a Look dubbed 'you're an idiot.' "No, really, Loki. Chocolate ice-cream cures all sadness." He smiles, it's not exactly true but well, he can smell the alcohol on the god so he knows that his own personal plan A has already failed, so maybe it would be good to try plan B. Loki sniffs and rubs at his red and puffy eyes before sighing heavily.

"I suppose I shall have to take your word for it." He says and gives a small smile when Tony pulls him out of the bed and yanks him from the room. "As long as we don't stay in the palace to eat it." Loki adds when they get down to the kitchen, Tony gives him a look before he shrugs.

"I hear the beach is lovely at night." He says, watching some of the sorrow and agitation seep away from Loki.

* * *

Ten minutes later they find themselves sitting on a giant log, watching the waves crash against the shore as they eat from a tub of chocolate ice-cream each. They haven't said a word since they left the Palace and neither of them seems to mind. When Bruce joins them fifteen minutes later, with his own tub of chocolate ice-cream, and he too doesn't say anything, well, they don't mind that either.

When Loki falls asleep it's with an empty tub of ice-cream lying on his chest and a peaceful smile adorning his face, a smile almost identical to the one Bruce also wears in his own sleep and Tony can't help but smirk. _Oh yeah, the ice-cream always wins. _He thinks before he lays back and lets sleep take hold of him too.

* * *

A/N: Cookies for anyone who worked out that Thor arrived on Thursday which happens to be 'Thor's Day' :P Ehehehe :)

LOKI! No, really. Stopppp! *tosses random soft green toy at Loki* Hug Bruce and stop ruining everything with your tears, dammit.


	6. We Can't Go On Like This

This freaking chapter man, it took so longgg to finish and I am still not happy with it but oh well. Deal.

And raising the thing to T because swearing so...

These boys are so angsty, gahufdjrnejn

* * *

_Inspirations for this chapter (mostly Mumford and Sons and the Classic Crime): _

_'I think I need a new story, one where I take on the world, the one I'm living is boring. It's killing you and me both.' You and Me Both- The Classic Crime_  
_'But you know me too well, I bring it all on myself, between heaven and hell, I've got no home.' Heaven and Hell- The Classic Crime_  
_'It seems as though I have forgotten, just how far down that I can go in an instant, and I can take you there, and I can take all my friends and family and I won't care.' Beautiful Darkside- The Classic Crime_  
_'Grace comes to those who wait, comes to those who pray through tears, they'll sing, and we'll all sing.' Glass Houses- The Classic Crime._  
_'Shoulder to shoulder, now brother, we carry no arms.' I Gave You All- Mumford and Sons_  
_'You are not alone in this, as brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand.' Timshel- Mumford and Sons_  
_'Don't test the ones you love, it'll only bring us down.' Sister- Mumford and Sons_  
_'Violence doesn't end violence, it extends it.' The Doctor, Doctor Who_  
_'We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone is arguing about where they're going to sit.' David Suzuki_

* * *

Things are a little rocky in the room for a while after Thor's arrival and neither Bruce nor Tony can work out what to do to keep their newly made family from falling apart. Loki marches out of rooms the moment Thor enters them, Thor pretends he can't see Loki when they bump into each other in the halls and Bruce finds his evenings preoccupied with an upset big brother while Tony finds his evenings preoccupied with an upset baby brother and no way to bridge the gaps. It has been like this for two weeks now, since that Thursday when Thor arrived and the Room itself, being sentient, is starting to break under the turmoil, not that either god has noticed this of course.

"Brucey…" Tony calls as he heads into the lab at… well… that's just it, he can't tell what the time is, and neither can their little Room synchronised clocks. "Brucey, it's happening again… we have to do something about this…" he exclaims sinking into a chair at one of the computers and rubbing a hand over his far too tired eyes.

"Yeah… yeah, I know. The computers keep bleeping out their annoyance, the weather chart is going haywire, the clock keeps telling me it's '11pa' or '3mm' and we're losing the lower levels of the palace." Bruce exclaims as he walks out of one of the many offices their lab boasts. Bruce looks at the impressive bags under Tony's eyes and wonders if his own are that bad, before shaking the thought away. "This has gone on long enough. They are grown men-god-beings- and they need to settle their disputes maturely and in a fashion that won't harm anyone, including themselves because I am one more late night away from hulking out and no one wants that." Bruce huffs as he sinks down into the chair at the computer opposite Tony and ruffles a hand through his hair.

"We could lock them in a room until… well… uhm…" Tony trails off awkwardly and Bruce smiles sourly.

"Yeah… the bitter irony of locking someone in a room to settle their differences while they are already locked inside a room to settle their differences…" he sighs and shakes his head. "Sometimes I hate this place…" he mutters to himself and Tony has to agree.

"Well, whatever we do, we need to do it fast." He mutters as the monitor in front of him tells him his sauna room has just been lost.

* * *

Two, one, three hours later, Loki appears in the lounge, the smile on his face turns into a scowl when he sees Thor is there and he spins towards the door, making to leave. Quickly grabbing his arm, Tony stops him.

"No. No this ends now. I have had enough." He says, shoving Loki onto the couch and folding his arms, ignoring the way the god glares darkly at him. "You two are grownups now, you are gods and you are brothers. Shut up, Loki, you are." Tony snarls at the god when he opens to his mouth to object. Loki sighs and sinks back into the couch, allowing Tony to continue. "I would have _loved _to have had a brother when I was growing up, I would have loved it. Someone to talk to, someone to play with, someone who was just there when I needed them, I would have loved it. Sure, I know we'd have nearly killed each other many times before we even reached adulthood but in the end it wouldn't have mattered because we would have been _brothers, _we would've loved each other and cared for each other and we would've been family."

"You two are brothers, you two are family, you were raised to be brothers, and you were raised to care for each other, to fight for each other. You were raised to have each other's backs, not to stab each other in them. Thor, from what I can tell you didn't support Loki when you should have and that's not cool, that's not what brothers do, you need to work on that, pronto, I mean, c'mon. Loki, from what I can tell your father did something, said something and yeah, okay, I understand why you're upset but c'mon, Bruce's father abused him for years and murdered his mother in front of him and bullied him to keep quiet about it. My own father was barely even _there _his greatest freaking achievement was Steve, Steve who is the son he always wanted me to be and Steve who is everything I am not. Your father took you in, he raised you and he loved you and sure, he screwed the hell up royally but all fathers do and you know what? So do their children. Everyone stuffs up but they learn from those mistakes and become better people." Loki shifts awkwardly in his seat and looks at the carpet, Thor clears his throat and looks like a kicked puppy.

"We agreed when we came here not to bring our problems from the Real World with us, because we are going to be here for a long, long time and we are all each of us have now and the Room is falling apart because you won't stop fighting and Bruce and I are tired of being your shoulders to cry on; Bruce hasn't slept in days and I haven't either and he's oh so close from Hulking out on us and I don't freaking want that and neither should you. Maybe it's different where you guys are from, maybe you can afford to argue for ages and it won't matter, because you have the time but Bruce and I don't, we have 650,000 hours of life in total, if we are lucky, if we don't get killed tomorrow, and that's it. Bruce may get longer because of the Big Guy but we're still going to be stuck in here and I don't want to be stuck in here with you two arguing. I don't want to be dying of old age, if we're still in here by then, I don't want to be lying on my death bed with you two yelling around me. I don't freaking want my last moments of life to be seeing you two at each other's throats and to hear you screaming that you wish the other dead. No. I don't want that. So you're going to sit the hell down right now and discus your issues like adults because I can't take your crap anymore and I shouldn't have to." Tony finishes his tirade and glares darkly at the two brothers, who sit in an awkward silence. Loki vaguely wonders if Tony stopped to breathe through any of that, scowling away the unhelpful thought, Loki looks around; searching for anything that will get the subject off what Tony wants it to be on.

"Where's Bruce?" he asks, suddenly finding something and latching onto it. Tony clenches and unclenches his jaw in irritation.

"Bruce is in the lab, trying to halt the denaturing of this place. Don't change the subject." He scowls and then sighs. "Neither of you are leaving this room until you have sorted your shit out and for the record, I have better stuff to be doing on _my _day then taking care of you guys so start talking." Loki scowls, first at Thor, muttering 'this is entirely your fault' before turning to scowl at Tony.

"It doesn't work that way, Man of Iron, we will be at war with each other for years. The Æsir have short tempers and hold grudges for many years, this will not simply go away because you wish it to; there is a method to our madness that you cannot see." Tony tries not to flinch at the way Loki says 'Man of Iron,' it feels like a punch in the gut and he's not all too sure why. "When Thor and I finally sort this problem out, it will go one of two ways, I will be forgiven for all that I have done while I will forgive Thor and Fa-Odin and Asgard for all that they have done to me and I will return to Asgard and all will be well. Or…" Loki pauses and looks at Thor for guidance, sighing Thor takes over.

"Or Loki and I will realize that we simply cannot bear each other anymore and that there is just no possible way to forgive all that has happened, in which case we will fight to the death, whoever survives will be forgiven of all wrongs and be allowed to go where they wish while the other will be accepted into Valhalla or Hel, depending on whether or not Hela has laid claim to their soul. Personally I hope we will be able to forgive each other and I believe Loki hopes that too but our problems are not tiny things, Son of Howard and our ways of solving our differences are always very chaotic and destructive." Thor says, sounding tired, Loki nods and takes a deep breath in before his shoulders slump, and Tony thinks he looks as tired as Thor sounds. Tony scowls at them both, unimpressed.

"So, what? You're just going to be at each other's throats for the remainder of my life time until you, maybe, discover that you can see the other's point of view and forgive each other or one or both of you end up dead? That's bullshit. That's a crap system for sorting out issues, no freaking wonder you went off the deep end, Loki, your customs are crap. Violence doesn't end violence, it just extends it and you guys are prime examples of that." Tony says angrily, his patience starting to wear. Loki sighs and sits up straight in his chair.

"We can try, for the sake of the Room and you and Banner, to be civil but you must understand that this is how we have been raised, this is what our culture is like, this is who we are. I do not like this anymore than you, Tony but it is the way things must be. And even if we do manage to be civil with each other, there will still be days where we fight and we won't just be yelling at each other or trying to forget the other exits, on the days we fight, there will be thunder and lightning, there will be dark, dark magics flying around, there will be blood and there will be tears and we won't be able to stop that and you won't be either. We can try to be civil but on the days we can't, don't even try to come near us, don't even try to look at us or talk to us or anything because I can assure you that you won't survive, you haven't seen us angry yet." He says, giving Tony a serious stare, Tony swallows heavily and fights the urge to look away. "Have you not ever wondered why none of your kind's gods seem to answer their prayers anymore? It's because we're all too busy trying to rip each other's throats out, you guys don't even appear on our radars and what's worse is that most of our wars are started because of your kind and none of you even know it but you throw up a big fuss when we bring our wars down to you. If it wasn't for the Gods and Goddesses that constantly fall here and get attached to you humans, your planet would have been wiped from the stars long ago. We are selfish, us gods and if we can't have what we want then no one can." Loki scowls darkly and looks away as blue streaks start appearing in Loki's skin.

Silence reigns until suddenly Thor stands and walks to the middle of the room where he stops, waiting. Tony frowns in confusion for a moment before Loki sighs and stands as well, joining Thor in the middle of the room and Tony watches as they shake hands.

"Brother." Thor says, stiffly, Loki smirks and bites back on a laugh.

"Brother." He says, teasingly, Thor rolls his eyes, but Tony can see the smile forming on his lips. And as suddenly as it began, the moment is over and Loki is walking out one door and Thor through another and Tony is left all alone, standing in the living room wondering what the hell just happened.

"So… no more fighting?" He yells after the gods, he hears Loki snicker in the next room and Thor guffaw in the other.

"Yes, Tony, no more fighting. Well done, there is a brain in that head of yours, I didn't know." Loki calls mockingly causing Tony to scowl.

"There's no need to be mean…" Tony mutters before heading off towards the lab.

And all was well for the moment.

* * *

Next time:

"Hey baby, how you doing? I've missed you…"

"Tony, get a room."

"Yes, Stark, please d-"

'_Please take a seat; someone will be with you shortly.'_

"DID SOMEONE SET UP JARVIS!?"

"No, you idiot, that's the new 'doorbell'"

"There's no need to be mean, Loki, no one told me…"

"Wonder who it is this time, it better not be a villain. I sooo don't have the time for that…"

* * *

Guess what Tony's happy about, if you can. :D

And also R&R


End file.
